The Gatorade Bucket
The MMQB presents NFL 95, a special project—unveiled every Wednesday from May through July—detailing 95 artifacts that tell the story of the NFL, as the league prepares to enter its 95th season. See the entire series here.
There’s some dispute as to whether the Gatorade dunk started with the Bears in 1984 or the Giants in ’85, though it’s clear the Giants were most responsible for the tradition which stands today.
Teammates Jim Burt and Harry Carson turned the Gatorade bath of coach Bill Parcells into a special form of celebration on the Giants’ road to Super Bowl XXI. Parcells’ bonhomie in the matter didn’t hurt. When the season was over, New York having defeated Denver in Super Bowl XXI, Gatorade thanked Carson and Parcells for all the free publicity with $120,000 for the coach over three seasons and $20,000 to put Carson on a Gatorade poster, according to Darren Rovell in his 2005 book "First in Thirst: How Gatorade Turned the Science of Sweat Into A Cultural Phenomenon."
“It’s really remarkable that people haven’t found anything else to do,” Rovell told the Washington Post in 2012. “The bullpen car is gone in baseball. Or how many people are really putting on eye black? Sports traditions don’t really last anymore.”
—Robert Klemko
HOW ABOUT A SHOWER, COACH? SUPER BOWL DUNKINGS THROUGH THE YEARS
The Gatorade Bucket
Bill Parcells, Super Bowl XXI. (Peter Read Miller/Sports Illustrated)
Bill Parcells, Super Bowl XXI. (Peter Read Miller/Sports Illustrated)
Jimmy Johnson, Super Bowl XXVIII. (Chuck Solomon/Sports Illustrated)
Jimmy Johnson, Super Bowl XXVIII. (Chuck Solomon/Sports Illustrated)
George Seifer, Super Bowl XXIX. (John Iacono/Sports Illustrated)
George Seifer, Super Bowl XXIX. (John Iacono/Sports Illustrated)
Barry Switzer, Super Bowl XXX. (Robert Beck/Sports Illustrated)
Barry Switzer, Super Bowl XXX. (Robert Beck/Sports Illustrated)
Brian Billick, Super Bowl XXXV. (Bob Rosato/Sports Illustrated)
Brian Billick, Super Bowl XXXV. (Bob Rosato/Sports Illustrated)
Jon Gruden, Super Bowl XXXVII. (Walter Iooss Jr./Sports Illustrated)
Jon Gruden, Super Bowl XXXVII. (Walter Iooss Jr./Sports Illustrated)
Gruden, soaked and happy. (Walter Iooss Jr./Sports Illustrated)
Gruden, soaked and happy. (Walter Iooss Jr./Sports Illustrated)
Bill Belichick, Super Bowl XXXIX. (Bill Frakes/Sports Illustrated)
Bill Belichick, Super Bowl XXXIX. (Bill Frakes/Sports Illustrated)
Bill Cowher, Super Bowl XL. (Damian Strohmeyer/Sports Illustrated)
Bill Cowher, Super Bowl XL. (Damian Strohmeyer/Sports Illustrated)
Tony Dungy, Super Bowl XLI. (John W. McDonough/Sports Illustrated)
Tony Dungy, Super Bowl XLI. (John W. McDonough/Sports Illustrated)
Tom Coughlin, Super Bowl XLII. (John W. McDonough/Sports Illustrated)
Tom Coughlin, Super Bowl XLII. (John W. McDonough/Sports Illustrated)
Mike Tomlin (somewhere in there), Super Bowl XLIII. (Al Tielemans/Sports Illustrated)
Mike Tomlin (somewhere in there), Super Bowl XLIII. (Al Tielemans/Sports Illustrated)
Sean Payton, Super Bowl XLIV. (Bob Rosato/Sports Illustrated)
Sean Payton, Super Bowl XLIV. (Bob Rosato/Sports Illustrated)
Mike McCarthy, Super Bowl XLV. (John Iacono/Sports Illustrated)
Mike McCarthy, Super Bowl XLV. (John Iacono/Sports Illustrated)
Pete Carroll, Super Bowl XLVIII. (Donald Miralle/Sports Illustrated)
Pete Carroll, Super Bowl XLVIII. (Donald Miralle/Sports Illustrated)
